Suntan control device



Aug. 23, 1960 s. FROMER 2,949,880

SUN'IAN CONTROL DEVICE Filed July 17. 1958 FIG.2

DANGER OPTIMUM Q MILD FIG.3

INVENTOR. Stephen Fromer X 4 ATTORNEY.

nited States atent SUNTAN CONTROL DEVICE Stephen Framer, 1535 VictoryBlvd, Staten Island, N.Y.

Filed July 17, 1958, Ser. No. 749,137

3 Claims. (Cl. 116-114) The present invention relates to a device forcontrolling and preventing sunburn and more particularly to a lighttightpackage or enclosure containing a photosensitive paper element having aplurality of areas of diiferent photosensitivities, each of said areasbeing imprinted with a designation in a reducing agent such as sodiumthiosulfate Which becomes visually apparent as the photosensitive areasdarken upon exposure to actinic rays.

It is well known that sunburn is a common illness, especially in thesummertime, and that it can be dangerous or even fatal due to excessiveexposure to the suns rays. The usual practice is to use a sun tan lotionor preparation, but these are not particularly effective and evenprovide a sense of false security despite the fact that they containvarious chemical agents such as so-called sunscreen compositions. Manypeople are sensitive to such agents which are capable of causing skineruptions. These agents act by masking actinic rays which is an anomalybecause the object of exposure to sunlight is to obtain a natural tan,which can be accomplished by judicious exposure.

In accordance with the present invention, a device is provided whichwill enable sunbathers and others to acquire safely the desired sun tanin a natural manner and without requiring the auxiliary use of lotionscontaining sun-screening agents or compositions, although such may beused, if desired.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view taken through a device according tothe invention prior to removal of the photosensitive paper element fromits light-tight enclosure;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the device of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the photosensitive paper elementremoved from the light-tight enclosure.

In the drawing, the numeral indicates a light-tight enclosure or packagecomposed of any suitable material which will block out actinic rays.Aluminum foil is preferred, but other materials may be used so long asthey are capable of protecting the photosensitive paper element 11 fromactinic rays. The aluminum foil is formed into a suitable enclosure orpackage in any known manner such as by crimping together two aluminumfoil sheets or by using a single piece of aluminum foil and folding itover over the element 11, under red light or in very subdued light in amanner clear to those versed in matters photographic, and then crimpedor otherwise sealed. The enclosure or package can, for example, be madeby automatic machinery of the Salfisberg or Ivers-Lee type used forpackaging pharmaceutical powders, tablets and other products.

The photosensitive paper element 11 is provided on one side with anadhesive 12 of any suitable character such as that used forpressure-sensitive tapes and bandages so that the element adheres toarticles or objects with which it is brought into contact and can beobserved by the Patented Aug. 23, 1960 sunbather. The paper element 11is provided with a plurality of areas of different photosensitivitieswhich darken upon exposure to actinic rays in different elapsed times.One area darkens, for example, in approximately fifteen minutes, anotherin twenty-five minutes and a third in thirty-five minutes. The firstarea is used by persons with light complexions, the second by personswith medium complexions and the third by persons with dark complexions.This arrangement is preferred, but other combinations of times may beused such as when sunbathers have already had some exposure to sun orhave had ultraviolet lamp treatments in which event they can safely takelonger exposures to bright sunlight.

Each photosensitive area is imprinted with a designation selected forits guide relationship to exposure by the sunbather. Preferably, thedesignations Mild, Optimum and Danger are employed, but otherdesignations or indicia may equally well be employed such as a series ofnumerals like 1, 2 and 3 or with words like Light, Medium and Dark, butit has been found best to employ the word Danger on the area of greatestelapsed time of darkening upon exposure because this is the danger pointfor all persons and will serve as a direct warning to discontinuesunbathing. Colors may also be used such as green, yellow and red, thesesignifying, respectively, safety, caution and danger. The specificdesignations or indicia do not constitute a limitation upon theinvention and any one of these sets or combinations of them may be usedwithin the purview of the invention.

These word, numerical, etc. designations and indicia are imprinted onthe paper element in a reducing agent, preferably sodium thiosulfate,before the paper element is inserted into the enclosure or package, andare not visually apparent or particularly noticeable prior to exposureof the paper element to sunlight, but upon exposure, and as the paperdarkens, the words, numerals, etc. become successively visible andclearly apparent. For instance, When the paper element has been exposedto sunlight for about fifteen minutes, the Mild designation is fullyvisible, but the Optimum and Danger designations are not, these latterbecoming, respectively, clearly visible after total exposures oftwenty-five and thirty-five minutes. The visibility results from thedarkening of the various photosensitive areas in the pro-selected lapsedtimes, the designations themselves being white or otherwise contrasting.

The paper element itself is composed of printing-out paper of the typeformerly used in photographic work and now used substantially only forproofs submitted by professional photographers. This printing-out paperis prepared with an emulsion containing free soluble silver compoundsand was, according to prior usage of this type of paper, printed under anegative in strong light until the image was complete (EncyclopaediaBrittanica, 17, 800 (14th edition)). Printing-out paper is thus per selmown in photography, but has never been made or used in a mannerresponding to the invention. By using silver-containing emulsions ofpro-selected exposure times and combining a plurality thereof ofdifierent exposure times, the invention provides surprising andunexpected results not heretofore known or obtained.

In use, the aluminum foil or other light-tight package or enclosure isopened and the photosensitive paper element applied to a bathing suit,to the skin of the user or any nearby object or article where itsprogressive darkening can be observed. In this way, a simple,inexpensive device is provided which can be discarded after use.

What is claimed is:

1. A suntan control device comprising a photosensitive paper elementprovided on one side thereof with an adhesive and on its other side witha plurality of areas of different photosensitivities which darken atdifferent elapsed times upon exposure to actinic rays of sunlight, eachof the said photosensitive areas having printed thereon in sodiumthiosulfate a designation which becomes visually apparent after thelapse of a predetertermined time of exposure and upon darkening of thatarea due to such exposure, whereby a person exposed to actinic rays isable to obtain a safe amount of suntan over a comparatively extensiveperiod of time by observing said element and the appearance of suchdesignations.

2. A suntan control device according to claim 1, in which eachsucceeding photosensitive area darkens after a longer elapsed exposuretime than the preceding photosensitive area and in which thedesignations become progressively visible to guide the person exposed tothe actinic rays and to prevent overexposure of said person 15 to saidrays 3. A suntan control device according to claim 1, in which, by meansof the adhesive, the element is maintained in a position for continuousobservation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,262,444 Capstafi Apr. 9, 1918 2,046,409 Pleshker July 7, 19362,083,675 Ville June 15, 1937 2,253,231 Friedell Aug. 19, 1941 2,380,244Jones July 10, 1945 2,680,816 Stern June 8, 1954 2,687,478 Land Aug. 24,1954

